Author: Carolina

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Recipe of June: White Asparagus with Tomato Vinaigrette

Surprise your diners with this appetizer of asparagus with hot tomato vinaigrette that we bring you this month. A very easy recipe to make that will give a fine touch to your starter.

This recipe is for 2 to 3 people. You only need very basic ingredients:

Start by peeling the asparagus carefully, making sure to remove the first layer completely. Then, cut the last 3 cms. of the stem away, as it is usually too hard to cook. Reserve for later.

Chop the onions along with the garlic in small cubes and add them in a small pot with the two tablespoon of olive oil. Stir everything over low heat and leave it for about 5 minutes or until the onion is soft. Add salt and black pepper to taste while increasing cooking to medium heat. Next, add the apple cider vinegar, coconut sugar, chopped tomatoes and stir for a few seconds, letting the mixture to boil a bit for a couple of minutes. You can add a bit of water if it looks too thick. Let it boil slowly for extra few minutes. Finally, add the herbs, a pinch of lemon juice and turn the heat off.

You can adjust the level of sourness or sweetness by adding apple cider vinegar or coconut sugar to taste.

Let's jump to the asparagus! Very easy: just put them to boil for 3 minutes, adding at least 6 teaspoon of salt to the water to let the asparagus absorb as much as possible.Β  The asparagus must be crunchy so be careful to not over boil them.

Finally, serve and decorate as you wish. We suggest accompanying this entry with a refreshing Chardonnay, totally ad-hoc for summer evenings!

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A New Collaboration! – De Stadsgroenteboer

Summer is just around the corner and with it a wide variety of fresh vegetables to eat and share. Did you know that in Amsterdam West there is a group of local farmers who work hard all year round to supply the community from May to November with seasonal vegetables? Did you know that you can subscribe and receive an incredible box of vegetables grown without herbicides, on fertile and healthy soil every week from them? And finally, did you know that you can pick up your crate every Saturday at our store? Sign up with De Stadsgroenteboer guys on their website by clicking here. Your crate of vegetables will be waiting for you in our backyard.

πŸ₯¦ All the veggies come loose or in paper bags, so no plastic involved!πŸ₯¦

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A new edition of an old acquaintance – JARA Sauces

An old friend is back, now under a new brand name: JARA. This is AndrΓ©s, a Colombian chef and farmer with years of experience adding flavour to meals.

With his new brand JARA, AndrΓ©s brings us three of his iconic and delicious sauces: Tomatillo Salsa, Salsa al Funghi y Salsa Picante.

He explains how his business was took off. "JARA was started during the first Corona lock-down in spring 2020, when many small sustainable farms in the Netherlands had an unsold vegetables surplus due to the closing of the Horeca. Using vegetables from our urban farm in Amsterdam West and buying this surplus we created delicious, healthy and plant rich products. When restaurants reopened, the immediate problem disappeared. We continued production by purchasing ingredients from our farming community in the Netherlands at fair prices, while turning the organic waste from our production process into compost that goes back into the soil, creating a circular food chain"

After a while, AndrΓ©s turned into a farmer with the goal to revolutionise the way food is produced and consumed - to make sure that everyone from the farmers, to the sellers and the consumers make a conscious and responsible choice benefiting everyone in the process including and especially our planet. In addition, by purchasing his products you support local farmers that grow their crops using regenerative agriculture techniques. This way everybody, including children, can enjoy tasteful food that supports both the planet and a healthy lifestyle! His products are 100% natural without any artificial additives or flavour enhancers, directly from Dutch farms to your kitchen table.

JARA only works with local, sustainable partners within The Netherlands that share the same values. Together they work to improve the current food system and offer you better food choices.

Have you tried these delicious and sustainable sauces yet? If you haven't, you can find them in the pasta corner at our store, together with a booklet with recipes. Do you live very far? No worries! You can always order online.

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A New Product! – Natural Sassy Cider from Normandy

Summer is on the way and we can enjoy longer and sunnier days, which makes us look out on the terraces to enjoy delicious drinks. At Little Plant Pantry we are not left behind and to get in tune we bring you this exclusive and refreshing drinks from Normandy: pear and apple ciders from SASSY, to enjoy in individual size.

What's so special about SASSY Ciders?

SASSY, it's a story of two childhood friends with the same passion - Cider. Xavier and Pierre-Emmanuel learned to appreciate the true taste of cider, having grown up with cider as an integral part of Norman life. SASSY was born out of this childhood passion and desire to put Normandy back on the map.

Ciders

The two friends looked at current trends from drinks brands across the globe to guarantee their ciders would work for the modern palate. More freshness, lightness and finesse, to obtain a refined and balanced range that will have people gagging for another!

Their creations are made from 100% fruit juice which means NOTHING is added. Their artisanal press takes the very best from the carefully selected fruits and ensures only the highest quality to delight your taste buds. The balance of apple varieties offers freshness with a contrast of bittersweet and fruity aromas. This allows to pair with food, reinvigorate a cocktail or simply sip away at the end of the day.

Visit our shop and a grab a couple of bottles to refresh your afternoons in the park, terrace or wherever you want! And remember, you can always get them on our online store

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Let’s celebrate Mother’s Day 🌺

Goodie bag

May is the month we celebrate our beloved Moms. That is why we want to pamper all mothers this month with a 5% discount on Beewise products available in our online store. In addition, we will giveaway on Instagram a Sustainable Goodie Bag with different treats for her:

🎁 1 handmade mini soap Primal Essence
🎁 1 cotton shower puff
🎁 1 set of 12 reusable make up removers
🎁 100 grams of chocolate treat, 3 different fillings: raspberry, coconut and roasted almond.

Do you want to get the bag no matter what? You can also buy it on our online store.

Happy Mother's day!

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Mini News!

With April comes spring and it seems that nature woke up from its hibernation inviting us to recharge batteries. That is why we want to keep you motivate with this mini news we will share with you.

Join us in the garden: if you have more plants than space in your garden and you are planing to get rid of a few, wait! We will be happy to give them a second chance in our garden. Or if you have extra cuttings that you need to plant, why not come to our store during our opening hours and plant them yourself in our backyard?Β  For our part we will start this week by adding flowers and herbs, maybe also some decoration! Help us to make our garden more beautiful and give a proper welcome to spring.

King's Day: many people have asked if we will open on King's Day. The answer is: of course! Last year we worked together with Leticia's Recipe, cooking a vegan paella at the entrance of our store and it was a complete success. For this year we thought of bringing back our yummy Focaccia, which delighted palates of several diners last spring. We will also put available our full range of sweets that you already know and some "special" soft drinks. Don't miss it!

Easter: This week we will have all our whole cakes with a 15% discount. Surprise your family and friends with a completely vegan and gluten free cheesecake or banana bread to share. All handmade from our kitchen. You can order online and pick up at our store or choose home delivery if you live in Amsterdam. Also remember that our store will be closed on Easter Sunday.

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A New Collaboration! – Real Good Food Condiments

We are happy to announce a new collaboration! This time we join forces with Real Good Food, a local producer of different kind of condiments. From this month on you will find three different varieties that you can use to enhance the flavour of your favourite meals! Do you want to know what is it about? Let Nicole, creator and founder of the brand, tell us about her project.

"I have travelled the world for 20 years, living across five continents and learning new flavours along the way. Living in Schiedam I missed some of the punchier flavours from her time in Asia and Africa and memories of my childhood in Australia. Flavour bomb condiments were the answer to creating family meals everyone could enjoy; for a Dutch husband that craves boerenkool or a broodje kaas and a two year old that is still exploring new flavours". Nicole had a simple answer with condiments created from her food memories with local ingredients to adjust meals to each taste.

At Little Plant Pantry you can find three different condiments, each one of them created to be used in various types of food:

  • Curry Bomb: spiced oil with crispy curry leaves. Liven up a stamp pot, scatter over a traybake, or mix through a mayonnaise, the possibilities are endless. Perfect for a simple soup, like lentil or pumpkin cream. Then add a spoon of curry bomb at the table. Mind blowing!
  • Funky Vegan Sambal: Malaysian style sambal perfect for Nasi Lemak, funky fermented shrimp flavour but totally vegan.
  • Yum Phrik: Thai-inspired chili oil, with an aromatic blend of thai chili, makrut lime leaves, roasted rice, ginger and lemongrass. Inspired by the flavours of laab, yum phrik makes the perfect sauce for a salad, rice bowl, or mixed through rice or noodles. Try mixing a spoon through vegan yoghurt for a simple flavour packed dip.

Not sure which one to choose? Then come by this Saturday 15th of April to our shop. We will have a tasting with Nicole and her delicious condiments. You will be able to taste and share your impression, know more about the story of Real Good Food and discover a bomb of flavours! From 13:00 to 15:00 at Little Plant Pantry.

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Recipe of May: (Gluten free) almond chocolate bar

Many of our customers have surrendered to the taste and, above all, texture of our almond chocolate bars. That's why May brings this delicious and completely vegan recipe which can be done in no time obtaining up to 20 bars. How easy can be? Check by yourself! You just need the following ingredients:

For the chocolate coating:

We have available at the store are gluten free, but you can make the regular version as well.

Start by grinding the flax seed in case you don't have the powder version. Place the grind flax seed along with the maple syrup, almond pulp and peanut butter. Continue by adding in the same bowl the rest of the ingredients: chocolate chips, (gluten free) fine oats, cinnamon, salt and mix for a while using a mixer or just with your hands if you want to have more fun!

After all the ingredients are well mixed,Β  put a baking paper in a tray that has some edge to contain the mixture (the edge of our tray is 2 cms. high), spreading the dough totally, reaching every corner of the tray. Put to bake for 30 to 40 minutes at 160 degrees and let it cool at room temperature. Next, put the tray in the fridge and leave it until next day, to make sure the dough is hard enough as the next step is to take the baked dough out of the tray and proceed to cut it in bars.

To prepare the coating you just need to melt the chocolate chips with the coconut oil in a pot. Stir well until the chips are totally melted and introduce the bars one by one until they are totally covered. Garnish on top with the ingredient you want. We suggest: hazelnuts (like at the store), peanuts, coconut flakes, etc. After that, place the bar in the fridge as long as it needs to solidify.

Final step: enjoy!

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A New Collaboration! – Fort Negen Bakery

bakery

This month of March we begin with great news. Thanks to the collaboration with the Fort Negen bakery you can order and pick up every Friday in our store three of the organic sourdough bread that Maarten and his gang bake with enthusiasm every day. If you are not familiar with Fort Negen sourdough bread, here we tell you!

"Driven by taste and texture, we emphasize our ever-changing ingredients.Β Everything is made, baked and sold in the same room during the day.Β This means you get the freshest sourdough bread made from local grains possible" says Maarten, owner and baker of Fort Negen. Since 2018, he has been making juicy sourdough breads with a dark crust in Amsterdam, first at Restaurant De Kas and today, from his own bakery.

The origin of the ingredients plays a big role. "We work together with farmers and believe in an open and short food chain. Our farmers produce the tastiest and healthiest crops by analyzing and nurturing the soil and ecosystem around the farm" Maarten affirms. Regarding the process, it is elementary and intuitive, letting go of standardization to submit to nature and its ever-changing elements. "We have learned to develop and trust our senses as our environment and ingredients are different every day.Β By working with our hands and great ingredients, we facilitate fermentation and flavor development" he concludes.

If you want to see by yourself about the quality and flavour of Fort Negen organic sourdough bread, make sure to order your loaf during the week. Orders placed before 23 hrs on Tuesday will be ready to be picked upΒ  by you on Friday during our opening hours. You can order here or in person at our shop.
Note that shipping is not possible at the moment. But who knows if we implement deliveries in Amsterdam in the future, depending on how much enthusiasm there is!

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Crispy Chili Oil – La Lia

Did you know that aside from the regular oils we have in our shop you can find this authentic and handmade asian crispy chili oil? Eva Lia, a Dutch-Singaporean culinary creative and founder of La Lia Crispy Chili Oil tells us about her beginnings in this adventure. "Crispy Chilli Oil has always been my absolute favourite Asian condiment. It just lifts up any dish! But when I found out that my beloved store-bought chilli oil was full of chemical preservatives and unnatural ingredients, I knew I had a mission."

What she did? She asked her parents for her Grandma's recipe and spent uncountable hours in the kitchen to recreate it. Not an easy task considering that in her family the concept of a recipe is quite different from what we know as such."There is no communication in exact spoon measurements or let alone a recipe with the exact amount of ml. is given" she says. "We talk in ingredients, and communicate in 'a little bit of this and a little more of that" kinda recipes. Lucky enough with my determination and the help of my parents we have my grandma's recipe on paper!"

 

 

Still having a lot of respect for the family recipe, Eva wanted to give it a personal touch, adding more texture to the already praised original recipe. She tells us the secret: "Creating a scrumptious good crunch by adding the perfect amount of toasted buckwheat kernels [gives] that satisfying crunchy texture. I also made sure to toast the chilli flakes as an extra step which gives that extra layer of nutty aroma and taste."

The result? An extra crunchy chili oil full of flavour that transports us to the Asian continent at the first taste. However, it is a fairly versatile product that can be used in your daily meals or favourite snacks. Available onlineΒ and at our shop.